Plumpton Parish Council

Oil Buying Group

We have our own local oil buying group for the village area covering Plumpton Green, Plumpton and East Chiltington. Benefits of this include:

Reducing costs – oil distributors offer a reduction in quoted prices for larger volumes as it reduces delivery costs. All members benefit from the reduced price regardless of the quantity they personally order.

Fewer tankers on our roads – by co-ordinating the deliveries we have fewer tankers coming into our village, so less carbon and less wear and tear on the roads.

Communal benefit – an opportunity for us to work together for the benefit of the whole village, providing a voluntary free service which is accessible to all.

The group are notified of the next order date a few weeks in advance and sent an order form by email. Frequency and timing depends on demand but we generally place orders 5 times a year. People in the group place their confirmed orders via the Coordinator (Diane Marks) who collates these. The Negotiator for the group (Bob Leeds) then rings oil suppliers and negotiates the best price at that time for this combined bulk order. The Coordinator contacts those people who have ordered oil to inform them of the actual price negotiated and the estimated delivery date. Individuals settle the payment directly with the oil supplier, according to that particular supplier’s terms.

In joining the group, there is no requirement to place an order – people are free to buy oil independently. There are also no membership fees.